Speak Up 2008 Findings (National Initiative of Project Tomorrow)
Speak Up 2009 will open in the fall.
Educational Gaming What devices are kids using for gaming?
While high school kids are still more likely to use a video game console for their gaming, the younger students in grades K-8 are more likely to play games with computer based software and handheld gaming devices.
Girls across all grade levels are also most likely to play games using computer software. While 62% of high school boys list the video player console games as their #1 device, only ¼ of girls say the same thing.
2/3rds of students in grades 6-8 play online games – either in multiplayer environments (31%) or single player games (36%).
* Students in K-2 (33%) lead the way with their play of cell phone based games with 1/3 compared to only 23% of their high school peers.
* Only 3% of elementary students say they don’t play electronic games on some kind of device, 9% of middle school kids and 17% of high school kids.
On average across all grades, K-12 students are playing games approximately 8-10 hours a week.
Thenumber one reason students in grades K-12 (48%) like to play electronic games (besides winning) is the competition with other kids. For the students in middle and high school, finding ways to be successful at the game (46%) and the high level of interactivity (44%) are also strong motivators.
When asked about the value of gaming technologies within learning, students in grades 6-12 are very interested for a variety of reasons:
Games make it easier to understand difficult concepts – 51%
I would be more engaged in the subject – 50%
I would learn more about the subject – 46% (56% of students in K-2 chose this as their #1 reason)
It would be more interesting to practice problems – 44%
Increasingly teachers are becoming interested in use of games to increase student engagement (65%), address different learning styles (65%), focus on student-centered learning (47%), and to develop problem solving and critical thinking skills (40%).
Strong belief statements by the teachers show no differentiation based upon gender, teaching assignment, years of experience or education level.
However, for the teachers who self-assess themselves as advanced technology users, their interests in gaming technology was significantly higher than the teachers who viewed themselves as beginner tech users.
* Teachers who consider themselves as advanced tech users are twice as likely to play online games as beginner teachers.
Only 6% of teachers do not see any value in even exploring gaming within education.
Over 50% of teachers said they would be interested in learning more about integrating gaming technologies into teaching strategies and 46% would be interested in professional development on this. 11% said that they are currently incorporating some gaming into their instruction.
* The Education Arcade at MIT (right before E3)
MacArthur Foundation Digital Youth Project
Chris Dede
Speak Up 2008 Findings (National Initiative of Project Tomorrow)
Speak Up 2009 will open in the fall.
Educational Gaming
What devices are kids using for gaming?
* Students in K-2 (33%) lead the way with their play of cell phone based games with 1/3 compared to only 23% of their high school peers.
* Only 3% of elementary students say they don’t play electronic games on some kind of device, 9% of middle school kids and 17% of high school kids.
The number one reason students in grades K-12 (48%) like to play electronic games (besides winning) is the competition with other kids. For the students in middle and high school, finding ways to be successful at the game (46%) and the high level of interactivity (44%) are also strong motivators.
When asked about the value of gaming technologies within learning, students in grades 6-12 are very interested for a variety of reasons:
Increasingly teachers are becoming interested in use of games to increase student engagement (65%), address different learning styles (65%), focus on student-centered learning (47%), and to develop problem solving and critical thinking skills (40%).
* Teachers who consider themselves as advanced tech users are twice as likely to play online games as beginner teachers.